In the future, it is expected that compact base stations having an interface for a next-gen cellular wireless communication format called Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be introduced into residential homes. Such a compact base station may be called a femto base station (femto BS).
Meanwhile, wireless local area networks (WLAN) are already prevalent in residential homes. In homes where WLANs are prevalent, it is anticipated that terminals, or in other words, mobile stations (MS) will exist in a wireless communication environment where a variety of wireless access methods are available. For example, a wireless communication environment where both LTE-based wireless access and WLAN-based wireless access are available is anticipated.
In a wireless communication environment where a variety of wireless access methods are available, terminals having both LTE and WLAN wireless interfaces may be coupled to a home network. In some cases, terminals having both LTE and WLAN wireless adapters may be coupled to a home network LAN.
Moreover, a wireless communication system which has multiple wireless links in different formats and in which a higher node determines on a lower node to perform a multicast has been disclosed (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-283524, for example).